Nancy Mace's Head-Spinning Outburst At Jasmine Crockett Was Actually Quite Telling

People on social media were floored after Rep. Nancy Mace (R-S.C.) unleashed a fiery rant at her colleague, Rep. Jasmine Crockett (D-Texas), during a recent congressional committee hearing. The exchange concluded with Mace asking Crockett to take the argument “outside” — and experts think the moment revealed quite a lot.

During a House Oversight Committee hearing on Tuesday afternoon, Crockett requested to reinstate a subcommittee on civil rights and civil liberties, and she later criticized Mace ― who previously introduced a measure to ban transgender women from using the women’s bathrooms at the Capitol ― for spewing anti-trans rhetoric during the hearing.

“Somebody’s campaign coffers really are struggling right now, so she’s gonna keep saying ‘trans, trans, trans,’ so that people will feel threatened,” Crockett said about her Republican colleague.

“And chile, listen—” she continued, before Mace interrupted.

“I am no child, do not call me a child, I am no child,” Mace shot back. “Don’t even start, I am a grown woman. I’m 47 years old.”

The two spoke over each other before Mace said: “If you want to take it outside, we can do that.”

Crockett has since called out Mace’s behavior, writing on X, formerly Twitter, that “Republicans incite violence from the highest levels government & ALSO claim to be the party of law & order.”

And Mace has since claimed on X that she wasn’t egging on a physical fight with Crockett, and that “If I wanted a physical fight, you’d know it,” she wrote.

Regardless of Mace’s intentions, her behavior during the hearing was quite unsettling for many on social media. For starters, people called out the fact that Mace was seemingly unfamiliar with the expression, “chile,” which is a commonly used term in Black — and particularly Black Southern — cultures. And while it could be used in some contexts to reference a “child,” as Essence pointed out, it is also used as simply a form of expression, it’s used among adults or in some cases it could be used as a term of endearment.

Others on X thought the exchange exposed some racial biases, and that Crockett, who is Black, might have received a harsher response from other elected officials and the general public had she told Mace, who is white, to take their argument outside.

“[If] Congresswoman Crockett would have told Congresswoman Mace to ‘take it outside’ we would have think pieces about her lack of decorum and how her conduct is beneath that of a member of Congress,” wrote Symone Sanders Townsend, MSNBC co-host and former chief spokesperson for Vice President Kamala Harris.

Etiquette experts think there’s a lot to unpack from Mace’s response to Crockett. Read on to hear their main takeaways from the exchange:

Mace’s behavior was “beyond unprofessional,” and her actions were “pure theater.”

Mace was “beyond unprofessional and the epitome of improper etiquette,” said Jackie Vernon-Thompson, founder and CEO of the From the Inside-Out School of Etiquette.

“She should have considered the platform on which she sits,” she said. “Most people I know, regardless of their ethnicity, know very well that when, in a heated argument, someone suggests that we should take it outside, only means let’s fight it out physically.”

Mace’s tone of voice exhibited “frustration and anger,” she later continued, adding that the South Carolina representative displayed a “cultural ignorance” by assuming Crockett had called her a “child.”

Jodi Smith, an etiquette consultant who specializes in social and professional conduct, said that she believes Mace’s behavior — and with the racial dynamics at play — was intended for “pure theater.”

“The dynamic of a white woman filled with faux outrage challenging a Black woman to a fight is pure theater,” she said. “It was designed to disrupt the proceedings and to attract media attention.”

Members of Congress should be aware of terms used by other cultures — or at least ask questions.

Mace represents South Carolina’s 1st Congressional District, which includes the city of Charleston. The district is majority white, with Black people representing the second-highest racial demographic population at roughly 18%.

Vernon-Thompson said that it “saddens” her to think that Mace may have “absolutely no idea” what the term “chile” means.

“‘Chile’ is completely innocent and her reaction clearly amplified her ignorance of the slang and culture,” she said. “It further exposes the fact that she most likely has not established deep rapport with anyone of the African American culture who feels comfortable using innocent words such as ‘chile’ with her.”

She added that it seems it would be in Mace’s best interest to work on fostering “relationships with more diverse cultures” considering she’s “a congresswoman for the American people.”

Vernon-Thompson emphasized that “chile” is an expression used in African American Vernacular English (AAVE) and that it can be used in various contexts. It can be an expression of disbelief, a form of endearment or simply used when someone is “comfortable with whom they are communicating.”

“It in no way suggests violence or anger,” she added.

Smith thinks you would be “hard-pressed” to find an adult in the U.S. who’s completely unfamiliar with the expression “chile.”

In Crockett’s case, “the use of ‘chile’ was an exclamation to punctuate a point in the same way someone might say ‘Aw, man!’ when disappointed,” she said.

Nonetheless, Smith said that if one is ever unsure of how to interpret something someone else said, “the easiest course of action is to ask.”

“A simple, ‘Excuse me, what did you say?’ or ‘Excuse me, what did you mean by that?’ will quickly illuminate if the words were intended to disrespect or not,” she said.

Make sure to document everything if you find yourself in a confrontational exchange at work.

Smith said that if you’re at the workplace and experience a threat of any kind — and particularly a threat of physical violence — it’s “important to involve management and/or human resources as quickly as possible.”

She said that it may even be necessary to involve law enforcement.

“Be sure to note the date, time, threat and any witnesses,” she said. “Manners matter, but safety first.”

As for Mace and Crockett’s exchange, Vernon-Thompson called Mace’s conduct “very poor.”

“I applaud Congresswoman Crockett for not taking it to the next level,” she said.

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